Grape Seed & Cancer

Cancer affects so many lives now, any natural support that can fight this epidemic is a smart addition to your supplement regimen. With this in mind, grape seed extract may be the next big thing.

New research shows that grape seed extract is a potent fighter against colorectal cancer in lab testing. The research details that the extract works harder as the cancer reaches higher stages.

Researcher Molly Derry from the University of Colorado worked with associates to look at the use of grape seed extract at various stages of cancer development. As the cancer stage went up (and severity and lethality generally increase), the extract actually showed an increase in anti-cancer effect. Conventional chemotherapy treatment does not show this kind of increase in benefits, but rather drops in effectiveness as cancer develops metastatic potential.

Even better news is that grape seed extract has this astonishing effect of increased effectiveness, and without the adverse effects on healthy cells. One of the biggest downsides to conventional medical chemotherapy is the incredibly negative effect it has on the body as a whole – including healthy tissues.

Derry said that grape seed extract compounds tend to selectively target some kinds of cancer cells – and that the changes in cancer cells as they become more dangerous seems to make them even more susceptible to the effects of grape seed extract, rather than less.

The difference in higher stage cancer cells versus earlier stage cancer cells was quite significant. Derry said that less than half the concentration of grape seed extract was able to both suppress the growth of cancer cells, as well as kill half of them, versus the amount required if cancer cells were stage II. She theorizes that the genetic mutations in higher stage cancer cells make the difference, and that more mutations make the cells a better target for the grape seed extract’s active compounds.